Memphis City Council committee sends sales-tax increase resolution to full body

Under a plan introduced in City Council committee Tuesday, a free prekindergarten program for 4-year-olds in Memphis would be funded by a sales-tax increase.

City Council members Shea Flinn and Jim Strickland on Tuesday introduced a resolution for a referendum to raise the local sales tax by one-half percent in order to fund prekindergarten classes and reduce property taxes.

Under the plan Strickland and Flinn introduced in a council committee meeting, the sales tax would increase from 9.25 to 9.75 percent, to raise $47 million a year. The plan foresees dedicating $20 million to reducing property taxes by around 20 cents, and putting $27 million toward funding the largest prekindergarten program in the city.

A nine-member commission, appointed by the mayor, would oversee a pre-K trust and be involved in setting the curriculum and hiring the staff. Any family in Memphis would be allowed to enroll 4-year-old children in the free classes, which could start as early as next January.

"We have a property tax rate that severely burdens citizens," said Flinn. "The sales tax does not."

Studies show that children enrolled in pre-K score higher in school, have improved motor skills and better language skills and are more likely to finish college, Flinn said.

"It doesn't guarantee an outcome, but it changes the statistical probability," he said.

"This is a policy tool that changes the trajectory of children in a positive direction," said Doug Imig, a resident fellow at The Urban Child Institute and a professor at The University of Memphis.

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton said the program would offer "wrap around serrvices" to aid a child's development. "We know first-hand the offerings of pre-K work," Wharton said. "The results are amazing."

Council member Wanda Halbert said supporters of the sales tax hike must be prepared to fully explain to Memphis voters how the referendum would work and the benefits it could reap.

"When we go to the public, we need to be fully armed," Halbert said.

A city sales tax hike was proposed last year but was knocked off the ballot when the Shelby County Commission called for a countywide sales tax hike. The county referendum was defeated in the November elections.

Wharton, who supported the earlier sales tax hike, said it was doomed because of the lack of a solid plan to sell it to the public.

"I got botched up in that other deal where we had different answers and I'm not doing that twice," said Wharton.

The resolution supporting the sales tax hike and the ordinance setting the referendum question were passed out of committee without a vote.